Project Charter Templates

A project charter is a document that sets out the purpose of the project and is therefore both a common reference point throughout the lifecycle of the project and an aid to communication.

The aim of the charter is to act as an approval point for the project and remain a focus point throught the lifecycle of the project to ensure the project does not have scope creep. At a high level the charter contains the reason for doing the project, the scope, stakeholders and a communication plan. Often it is a written document with a set layout. It is a good idea to have all of an organisation’s projects in the same format. This aids executives when it comes to agreeing the outcomes of the project as they know what to expect. It is therefore a good idea to use a standard template for all projects. I have found a number of free project charter templates which you can download and use. Just follow the links below. After the links to the free templates I have also included further information which may help you produce a really good charter.